What is Proto-Sinaitic?
Q: What is Proto-Sinaitic?
A: Proto-Sinaitic is a Middle Bronze Age script known from a few inscriptions at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula.
Q: What is known about the nature of the Proto-Sinaitic script?
A: Because there are so few Proto-Sinaitic signs, little is known with certainty about the nature of the script.
Q: Did Proto-Sinaitic script represent true writing?
A: Proto-Sinaitic script likely represented true writing since it co-existed with Egyptian hieroglyphs, but this is not certain.
Q: What alphabet might Proto-Sinaitic be an ancestor of?
A: Proto-Sinaitic may be an alphabet and the ancestor of the Phoenician alphabet, from which nearly all modern alphabets descend.
Q: When were the two major discoveries of inscriptions of the Proto-Sinaitic script?
A: The first major discovery was in the winter of 1904–1905 in Sinai by Hilda and Flinders Petrie, dated to circa 1700–1400 BC. The second major discovery was more recently in 1999 in Middle Egypt by John and Deborah Darnell, dated to the 18th century BC.
Q: Where were the inscriptions of Proto-Sinaitic found?
A: The inscriptions of Proto-Sinaitic were found at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula and in Middle Egypt.
Q: Who made the first discovery of inscriptions of Proto-Sinaitic?
A: The first discovery of inscriptions of Proto-Sinaitic was made by Hilda and Flinders Petrie.
